Food Allergy Hero of the Month: Tatum Smith
By Cori Smith, Tatum’s mom
Tatum’s allergy journey began when she was 3 years old. A seemingly innocent trip to a new bakery for a special treat opened up a whole world we knew nothing about. One tiny bite of the sesame/tahini cookie and she had her first reaction. A few weeks later it was confirmed she’s allergic to sesame seeds, peanuts, tree nuts, shrimp and a host of other environmental and animal allergies. She had already been diagnosed as asthmatic at 2 years old, so adding this new challenge to her life was heartbreaking. We’ve been very open and honest with Tatum from day one. She was so young when diagnosed, but she’s been her own best advocate since. Our lives became checking labels, confirming the safety of food at restaurants, and teaching her how to keep herself safe when we weren’t right there to advocate for her. Our families and close circle stepped up to adjust as needed and learn what is “Tatum safe.”
Tatum has done a phenomenal job of questioning everything. Nothing is automatically safe for her. She needs to check, and then check again. While this habit tends to drive my husband and I crazy when it’s something we’ve already checked and know it’s safe for her, we need to allow her to have that reassurance for herself. Living with food allergies has been a learning experience for us all.
Tatum has in the past year or so really struggled with anxiety related to her allergies and asthma. As she’s grown to really understand the realness of living with food allergies and the reality that at any point she can have a reaction- that reality is a scary thing for her. We are always looking for ways for Tatum to learn from other allergy kids and instill that even though this is a difficult journey, it’s her journey and she can make lemonade out of lemons. Being an Ambassador for Red Sneakers for Oakley allows her to continue to learn to be her own best advocate and empowers her to educate others on the importance of food safety and epi-pens. It helps as a reminder for her what are the signs of an allergic reaction, and what the plan is if one occurs- for herself or for others!
At the end of January Tatum and I had the idea to fundraise for RSFO in the form of selling resin letter keychains. One random bedtime conversation between her and I turned into a quick Facebook post on our local mom group. Within 24 hours we had over 100 keychains to make and the orders keep coming. It’s been such a fun thing for her and I to do together and the messages we are getting from other food allergy parents are heartwarming. She is seeing how much good there is in the world. By February 2023, we were able to raise $675 to donate to Red Sneaker for Oakley!
